Winners in Fashion-Related Reality This Week

It was the right final two on "Stylista" Wednesday night - the fashion-minded Dyshaun and the well organized Johanna.

In the end, after a final cover shoot with Eve (fulfilling some lingering CW contractual obligation no doubt), it was Johanna, 28, the former military analyist, whose only fault was overthinking things, who got the job.

I guess a job in journalism is rare enough these days. She gets a year's slot as junior editor at Elle, an apartment to live in while she does, and a clothing allowance at H&M.She'd done a better job making Eve feel at ease as she got her to wear just the kind of empire-waisted purple outfit she wanted her to put on.

Dyshaun was a little more scattered and she didn't like all the chothes he had chosen for her. He didn't make any spelling mistakes in his cover lines (it had been an issue in other assignments) but the judges couldn't get past the gold curtains he also put in the cover shot.

It was pretty close, but Johanna got the nod.

"I'm feeling my whole life turning in a new direction," she said between tears at the end..

"Aw," the judges said.

The other one in the final three, Megan, didn't pass the interview with the main boss and spent the rest of the show trying not to be a part of Joanna's winning team, going so far as rebelling, telling producers she was tired, she had played the game and was out of there. Johanna talked her back in, but she didn't accomplish much except start another bickering tattletale fight with Kate.

The night before, the first winner was named for "Blush: The Next Great Makeup Artist," an unusual reality competition for the Lifetime channel, but not so different really than "Project Runway" or "America's Next Top Model" except with an entirely different focus.

On this one, the models might as well be mannequins for the little they bring to the competition among makeup artists. By the end Tuesday, it could have been a show that also plays the Logo network, so flamboyant were its final three.

The most out there was someone named Maxi, who was crazy in the manner of Onch on "Paris Hilton's My New BFF," except that Maxi made it to the finals. Of the other two, Nolan Robert looked like he himself had too much makeup on; he did have a lot of experience though and was a master at blending, whatever that is. The third finalist was Todd Homme, who was called the Mozart of makeup, perhaps because he was so young - 23.

He was noted for exhibiting such joy in his work, he didn't even mind coming in third, since he had his whole career ahead of him. But in the same kind of shock that had happened on "Double Shot of Love" episode that was airing at the very same time, we learned from an "in memory of" card at the end of the show that Todd quite suddenly died since the filming of the show (no immediate cause of death was available).

Though he was in the final two last week, Nolan was the winner and broke out in more tears than Johanna would. The boldness of Maxi's vision was noted, but it didn't offset his clownish behavior. Even though he practically had the name to work for sponsor Max factor.

Also part of the prize: $100,000 and a chance to work on an In Style cover shot.

And maybe one day, he'll work on a "Top Model" wearing a design from a "Project Runway" winner, for a cover shoot organized by the "Stylista" winner.

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Roger Catlin is TV critic for the Hartford Courant and writes a daily column about what's on television called TV Eye. He is also on the board of the Television Critics Association. Before all of this, he was rock critic ... read more